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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — a committee
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. date — the fruit
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spell — magic
  19. board — to get on
  20. rock — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com